The Right to Life. The History of Capital Punishment

Sacrifice, blood feud, execution — all these forms of legally sanctioned deprivation of life by other people have existed since ancient times, and all of them were considered necessary. At the same time, people have always understood that capital punishment is terrible. It is no coincidence that criminals were often condemned to exile rather than have their blood shed on their homeland. It is no coincidence that Socrates could not be executed until a ship sent to a sacred festival returned to Athens — if the philosopher had drank the cup of hemlock at the moment when the rituals in honor of Apollo were performed, the god would have been offended. It is no coincidence that executioners were feared and avoided. Yet, in different eras, in different societies and cultures, people were condemned to execution. Historian Tamara Eidelman tells how ordinary citizens, politicians, philosophers, writers, and artists have treated and continue to treat this issue.